Sinead Kerr and Grant Marshall may be at the top of Battle of the Blades’ leaderboard, but I declare the producers and viewers of the show the winners of Sunday night’s episode. Season 4’s new format – a one-hour extravaganza that features both performances and the weekly elimination – is a keeper.

The 60 minutes practically whiz by as the eight teams composed of retired pro hockey players and female figure skating stars showcase their programs for the studio audience and judges. Right from the start, though, two teams are marked for elimination. This week, Marcy Hinzmann and Mike Krushelnyski and Oksana Kazakova and Vladimir Malakhov are the bottom vote getters, so they will perform in a skate off. In true TV fashion, though, the two teams have to wait until the bitter end to show their stuff.

Co-host Ron MacLean points out that Valeri Bure and Ekaterina Gordeeva won it all in Season 2, so Canadians can overcome our inherent distrust of Ruskis, just give us time, he says. Way to colour a nation, MacLean. Suddenly I understand why Don Cherry is so riled up all the time. Okay, enough sour grapes, on to the skating!

Jessica Dube and Brian Savage

Things start well with a nice long lift with Brian supporting Jessica upside down and through a turn, but go off the rails when Jessica falls to the ice during a throw. They recover well, with the program finishing with Jessica spinning across the ice surface . . . in splits.

Judges say: Kurt Browning thinks that Brian is “an actor,” and while this isn’t a top-notch performance, the team will go far; 5.3. Jamie Sale give the duo credit for pulling off the first jumps, but reminds Brian to work on his leg extension; 5.5. P.J. Stock gives them credit for trying the throw, but “you live with it or you die with it;” 5.4. Total: 16.2.

Amanda Evora and Scott Thornton

Last week, these two wowed with their non-stop tricks and they stick to the formula. The program, to Hit the Road Jack, opens with a nice deadlift over Scott’s head and keeps going from there. Picky point (which also applies to other teams): Scott’s arms tend to flop around in between moves, with no tension to be seen.

Judges say: Jamie says they are a thrilling pair to watch – with a shout-out to that sit lift – but adds that Scott needs to watch his posture, as Amanda is “so little” and he tends to hunch over toward her; 5.7. Even though P.J. apparently can’t get over the fact that he and Scott duked it out back when they wore jerseys for a living, he gives them props for the tricks; 5.6. Kurt Browning has nothing but love, baby. “You blew me away. That’s why my mark is so high”; 5.5. Total: 18.8.

Violetta Afanasieva and Jason Strudwick

There’s personality plus on offer here, as the two skate to It’s De-Lovely. One overhead transitions into a unique move as Jason lowers Violetta, who is holding a plank position, parallel to the ice as he speeds along. His arm extension, it should be noted, is good.

Mike Krushelnyski and Marcy Hinzmann learn their fate from Battle of the Blades co-host Ron MacLean.

Judges say: P.J. credits the pair with pulling off the leap of faith and says they probably have the best combination of lifts and skating; 5.7. Kurt says Jason pulls the spotlight and is a promising blend of speed and charisma; 5.7. Jamie points out that Jason really worked on his speed over the past week and it paid off; 5.7. Total: 17.1.

Shae-Lynn and Anson Carter

In a total 180 from their military-themed routine last week, Shae-Lynn and Anson go subtle with a quiet skate to Unforgettable. Shae-Lynn’s years of ice dancing are evident in her deep knees, and Anson does his best to keep up with her world-class moves. You can see him thinking, though, which takes away from the entertainment value.

Judges say: Kurt gives kudos to Anson’s stroking, but says he needs to step up his game. “If you challenge her, you will win this competition;” 5.4 (to the first boos of the year). Jamie totally disagrees, and points to changes of direction and the emotional pull of the routine; 5.8 (to cheers). P.J. says although there weren’t flips and throws to the same degree as other programs, it was a smooth, beautiful skate; 5.6. Total: 16.8.

Sinead Kerr and Grant Marshall

Sinead and Grant play along to Takes Two to Tango, with her red outfit a pop of colour on the ice. One move sees Grant flipping Sinead backward over his arm as they travel a line down the centre of the ice, and he repeats it again. (If Torvill and Dean were watching, they were surely yelling for the pair to do it a third time.)

Judges say: Jamie says that Grant is becoming an ice dancer, and the routine was comparable to a free dance; 5.8. P.J. says that since there weren’t tons of tricks, the pair had to win over the judges with their showmanship and footwork. Mission accomplished; 5.8. Kurt points out that while the lifts weren’t overhead, they were back to back and Grant didn’t lose speed during the sequence. The lack of lifts might be a factor further down the road, he advises, but not tonight; 5.7. Total: 17.3.

Marie-France and Mathieu

The pair have good sped as they smoothly skate to Story Weather, but a helicopter lift is awkward and stalls the momentum of the routine.

Judges say: P.J. spotted Mathieu’s inner hockey player in the face he made as he hoisted Marie-France into the lift; 5.6. Kurt says although they make it look easy, he wants to see the lift brought back and done right, like he’s seen it in practice; 5.6. Jamie is all hot and bothered by the routine, so much so that Kurt and PJ fan her down. “You guys just heated it up!”; 5.8. Total: 17.

Skate off

Marcy and Mike start slow, but build nicely, working in both a front and back death spiral. Oksana and Vlad, however, crush their routine. He seems diffident at the beginning, but is all smiles after they land their throw axel. That smile carries over into the lift were Oksana perches on the back of his shoulders as he opens his arms wide and through the spin where he hold her around the waist and whips around like he’s competing in the hammer throw.

The judges have the final say and give it to Vlad and Oksana over Marcy and Mike 16.7 to 16.3, so the decorated team ( two U.S. medals for her; three Stanley Cups as a player, plus one as an assistant coach, for him) is the first to be officially “iced.” We’ll see you back here next week as the teams skate to “the international beat,” whatever that is.

And please tell me what annoyed you more on this episode: Ron MacLean’s constant and awkward shilling for viewers to engage with BOTB through social media or the fact that the judges wear skates but don’t actually step on the ice. Chekov’s gun rule applies here, people: “One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.” You tell ‘em Anton. As always, please share your thoughts on any and all things BOTB in the comment section below.

Battle of the Blades airs Sundays on CBC.
* This is a corrected version of an earlier story.

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